As I wrap up writing I Think He Did It (though it's not nearly as close to it's finish on this site), my muse started coming up with this new story. I think it'll start as some stories you have read before, but it will veer in a different direction. That's all I can say without giving anything away. I do hope you'll enjoy!

All You Had to Do Was Stay

Slumped on her couch and eating straight from the tub of ice cream in her hands, Anna was prepared just to stay inside and wallow in her self-pity for the weekend. Her boyfriend of nearly two years had just dumped her, saying that she valued her job over him and so he had found someone else.

With a sigh, she scooped out a large bite and stuffed it all into her mouth.

"Good god," Mary said, eyeing her best friend with horror on her face. At some point, she must have come into Anna's flat. She had the spare keys and often came over to check on her plants while she was away with her work. "You are not going to allow Mitch to put you into this state of despair are you? You didn't even really like him."

Anna rolled her eyes, ignoring her friend's words, before eating another large bite of ice cream. She then nearly growled as Mary tugged the container from her hand and shook her head.

"You're better than this, Anna," Mary insisted. "Come on, let's go out and you can find someone to sleep with to get over this Mitch hump. Find a rebound stat."

Anna looked up at her friend, incredulous. "I'm not going to go and have a one-night stand with some random guy."

"Why not?" Mary simply asked, sitting down next to Anna. "It's the best way to kick start moving on."

Anna loudly sighed. "And you're going to do this with me in solidarity?" Anna playfully questioned, knowing the answer.

Mary shook her head, showing Anna the ring on her finger. "Already married, dear. So no. But we're getting dressed up and going out."

"Mary…."
"You're not arguing with me. Go, get in the shower, and let's go. I won't have you sitting here, crying over a guy you hardly liked. I'm not sure why you were still with him to be honest."

"Mary," Anna bemoaned. "You never liked him."

"No, because you could hardly stand him. Now, go shower. I don't have all day."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

She couldn't believe that Mary had convinced her to do this. They were at the pub down the street that was packed because of the football game. Anna didn't follow sports, but she should have known it was going to be crazy tonight.

"I'm not sure about this," Anna said, stepping backward. She couldn't go far, though. Mary pressed her forward.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Mary insisted. Anna let out a loud sound, but Mary ignored her, continuing to push her inside the building. Mary said that she had called ahead and secured them a table. And as they walked further inside, there was a table roped off just for them. There could be perks to knowing Mary Crawley. The name held a lot of power sometimes.

They sat and a waitress quickly came over to take their orders.

"Two shots of tequila and a margarita," Mary told her.

"Wait…." But the waitress was gone before Anna could say anything else. "I don't want a shot."

"You're having two," Mary stated. "Blow off some steam. Have fun. Matthew will pick us up if we can't make it the two blocks to your flat."

Anna inhaled sharply. However, by the time the drinks made it to the table, she did quickly take the two shots. She made a face after each one.

"Good," Mary cheered her on. "Get loose and have fun!"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John slid into the loud booth with a grumble. His television had busted and he wanted to watch the new game. He hated loud noises, but his divorce had finally gone through with Vera and he deserved to celebrate with a tall glass of beer. John rarely drank nowadays. With Vera, it seemed it only made the two of them argue more. She hated the stench of it on his breath and he would drink to drown her out. They had been toxic together.

But today was a new day. He was a free man. He could enjoy his beer and the game and try to ignore all the loud blokes around him.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Are you sure?" Mary asked her friend, eyeing the man across the way. He was looking at Anna, his eyes going up and down her frame. He was cute enough, Mary supposed. He had blonde hair and a goofy grin.

"You're the one who told me to find someone," Anna stated, almost exasperated. Mary sighed. She had, but she was being facetious. She didn't think that her friend would actually hook up with someone tonight.

"Alright, alright. Matthew is out front, waiting to pick me up. If you change your mind or he becomes inappropriate, you call….."

"I'll be fine," Anna asserted. "Go home."

"Then you better call me tomorrow and give me all the details," Mary said, "He better be good in bed."

"Mary!" Anna exclaimed.

"Call me first thing!" Mary insisted, before kissing Anna's cheek and leaving Anna.

The moment Mary was gone, Anna's nerves began to grow. Was she actually going to do this? Ted seemed nice enough, but was she, a woman who had never had a one night stand before, really up for this?

"Hey," Ted said, as he walked up to her and placed his hand on her cheek. "You ready to get out of here?"

Anna tried to nod, but she felt frozen. Her nerve from just moments ago fading.

"I…" She paused. "What if we waited a little while longer and had something to eat."

Ted's hand fell from her face and he frowned.

"So, you're just a tease," he said.

"What, no? I just…."

"I should have known better," he growled. "I hate when women tease and act like they actually want something when they don't."

"Hey," a voice said behind the both of them. Anna nearly jumped and turned back to see a man behind them. His eyes were on Ted's and he looked angry. "Apologize."

"I don't know who you are," Ted said, backing away slightly. This man was much taller than Ted. "I don't think this is any of your business anyway."

"You don't talk to a lady like that, apologize," the man stated again.

"Whatever," Ted just turned and walked away. Anna felt a rush of relief that she hadn't gone to sleep with him.

"Th…thank you?" Anna half asked, half said. Her eyes landing on the man before her. He shrugged his shoulders.

"He was a jerk," the man simply said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Can I buy you a drink as a thank you?" Anna then questioned him.

"Sure."

The two of them walked back over to the table that was still reserved for Anna. It still was blocked off and so no one had claimed it as their own.

"How did you manage to get a table in here?" The man asked over the loud noise from the pub.

"It helps to know a Crawley," Anna answered with a wink.

"Crawley? Like Robert Crawley?"

"Well, his daughter, Mary. She and I are best friends. I'm Anna."

"John," the guy responded. "John Bates. I work for Robert. We're friends as well." At that, Anna smiled.

"So we know the same people."

"It seems like it."

As he requested, Anna just ordered John a water to drink. She did the same. After her near moment with Ted, she felt she shouldn't drink anymore. She didn't want that to happen again.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

He offered to walk her home. The two of them had spoken for nearly two hours straight and he had enjoyed it. It had been a long time since he had that much fun in an evening. He had forgotten that one could talk with someone and not scream at each other.

When they reached the front door of the flat, Anna pushed the door all the way open and motioned for him to come inside. His heart skipped a beat.

"I should probably…." But Anna's hands came over his and pulled him inside.

"We're two consenting adults. We both just got out of toxic relationships. We deserve a night of fun. I trust you. Do you trust me?"

He swallowed hard, but nodded. His heart hammered in his chest. This couldn't be happening, but it was.

"I don't have…" Anna seemed to know what he was going to say.

"I have protection in my bathroom. You don't have to do this if you don't want to, but I would really love it if we did."

He couldn't believe this. She was absolutely stunning. She perched up to him and kissed his lips, he moaned in response.

Instead of answering her, he shut the door behind them.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The light hit him in the face, forcing him to wake up. He turned onto his side to realize he was undressed and not in his own bed. That was when he realized what had transpired the night before. He glanced over to the other side of the bed to see that it was empty. He furrowed his brows and wondered where Anna could be.

He then heard the distinct sound of a shower being turned on and decided to take this opportunity to get dressed, quickly. What had he been thinking? That was easy, he hadn't been. Anna was much too young for him and she had deserved more than a one night stand with him.

Disappointed in himself, John tugged his shirt over his head and ran his hand over his already prickly cheeks. Thankfully, he didn't work on Saturdays, so he could just go home and pretend none of this had happened.

He waited patiently for Anna to come out of her bathroom, not wanting to just leave her. Though he found himself wondering what he should do. He didn't know her well enough to cook for her, not that he could cook. And he didn't want to order something. He didn't know what she liked anyway.

The door from the shower opened and Anna just gave him a smile.

"Well," she began, bright. "That was fun."

"It was," John had to agree. "I guess I best be going."

"Yes, of course," Anna stated, seemingly unbothered that she had slept with someone probably double her age. Seriously, what had he been thinking? "Thank you for last night. Perhaps, I'll see you around?"

"Perhaps, goodbye, Anna."

He grabbed his jacket off the floor and made his way to the front door of the flat. He turned to have one last look, but Anna was already out of his eyesight. Sighing, he left.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Wait," Mary said into the phone, as she sat herself upright in her bed. "What happened to Ted?"

"He was a jerk," Anna explained on the other end.

"But you still slept with someone? Was it good?"

"Mary!" Anna scolded.

"Well, was it?"

"It was amazing, if you must know."

Mary nodded. Well, at least her friend had a fun night. "So who was this mystery man? What did he look like?"

"You actually know him."

Mary's face grew pensive and she tried to think of the men the two of them knew. "Who? Not Thomas, he's not into women. Who do we both know?"

"John Bates."

Mary nearly spat out her coffee that Matthew had just handed to her.

"My father's friend? You slept with my father's best friend?" She heard Anna chuckle on the other end.

"I did."

"I….I don't know how I feel about this."

"You said I should have a rebound and I did."

"I did say that," Mary frowned. "Well, you had fun anyway, right? And it was just a one night deal."

Anna laughed.

"Yes."

"Well, thank goodness for that. Now that I know who you slept with, I don't need any more details."

"Deal."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Five Weeks Later

John was typing on his computer when the door to his office opened. His eyes shot up and he was surprised to find Anna Smith standing at his door. She looked just as beautiful as he remembered her. Quickly, he stood.

"Um, Anna, hi," he stumbled over his words. He hadn't expected to see her again, at least not any time soon. "What…"

Anna didn't speak. She just walked forward, setting something on his desk. The moment he saw what it was, his heart skipped a beat.

"But we used protection…."

"I know," Anna finally spoke, her arms crossing across her chest. "But they're only like 99% effective or something like that. Looks like we're the 1%."

His head was spinning. What…?

"Congratulations, Mr. Bates. It looks like you're going to be a father."

To be continued...?

Please let me know if you'd like more!